The present disclosure generally relates to vehicles and, more particularly, relates to a step for a vehicle to improve accessibility to, and usefulness of, the roof area and a roof rack cargo storage system.
Users of vehicles, including in particular sport utility and crossover type vehicles, often desire access to the roof of the vehicle and/or upper portions of their vehicle for a variety of reasons such as cleaning the full vehicle exterior (including the windshield, moon roof, and entire vehicle roof), as well as using the roof rack and/or top of vehicle storage area. While some individuals may use of the side vehicle running board and/or rear bumper for these purposes, it is not be possible to use the side running boards to access some of the areas of the roof of the vehicle since they do not provide users enough increased reach to gain access to the primary storage area of the roof of the vehicle. It is generally known to use a step or wheel ladder or other similar device to gain access to the upper portion of the vehicle. However, such solutions are limited and can be quite inconvenient and cumbersome—particularly when the devices or tools must be brought along and stowed in the vehicle when access to the roof is desired at another location. Obviously, such devices may be forgotten or lost. When ladders or other such devices are not available, it is generally known that the user may also attempt to access the roof/upper portions of the vehicle by standing on the tires, the vehicle interior floor and the vehicle seats (with the door open). These actions may result in awkward body positions and in an increased potential for vehicle and/or cargo damage. Despite these long known solutions and their limitations and deficiencies, the generally known solutions remain unchanged. There long remains a significant need to improve the accessibility to the roof areas of a vehicle, in particular the cargo storage area.